HUNTED - Chapter 26 - Mate

In this world, there are those that are fortunate and those who are not.

Ethan Bellrose is neither; he is cursed. At nineteen, he has lived his entire life sheltered in his home as his fragile body blisters under sunlight, breaks under the slightest impact, and falls to any sickness.

However, the arrival of a world-changing digital service catches the hopeless young man’s eye: “Reincarnation Online”--a virtual reality experience that gives a new fantastical life to those who are unfulfilled with their current path.

For Ethan Bellrose, the choice is simple. Without hesitation, he orders the virtual reality headgear, choosing to abandon his current life and live forevermore in the world of fantasy, magic, and endless adventure–”Arcadius.”

Though what he finds is a world not full of leisure and trivial triumph, but a world just as alive and full of darkness, glory, and grandeur as Earth–if not greater.

Starting from square one as an infant, given a new name and family, this is the eventful life, full of dreadful lows and exhilarating highs, of “Emilio Dragonheart.”

[...Booting System…]

[Welcome to Reincarnation Online.]

[You will henceforth by the recipient of the Dragonheart System.]

[Please, enjoy your stay.]

The chief female forensic investigator, Ran Yan was secretly killed by her assistant. Unexpectedly, she was reborn in the years of the Tang dynasty. After experiencing a narrow escape, she fled from Jiangnan to Chang’an. Although, Chang’an was at the beginning of its flourishing period under the Li family’s Tang dynasty, various princes were vying for the throne by using all kinds of strategies. This was the dark days of the imperial court, where one needed to walk on a tightrope as one’s life was as powerless as an ant. The Xiao family controlled a large amount of wealth so inevitably they also became involved in the conflicts.

After arriving in Chang’an, she discovered many suspicious incidents: the original owner had unexplainable amnesia but his family was indifferent. She once again saw the orchid shaped clay inkstone, a valuable object that her mother has given her in modern times. Hence, could it be that she can time travel back? In order to survive in the Tang dynasty, she displayed her strong spirit and willpower by learning medicine from a doctor, pretended that she benefited from being sick on how to cure diseases, suffered hardship in earning money, manufactured penicillin, cured syphilis, and used her autopsy skill and experience to solve each and every murder mysteries.

- Description from Novelupdates

I was betrayed in my first life.A cripple, broken and discarded—I died after catching the one I loved in bed with the only person I ever called a friend.That was the start of real torment.When I woke up, it was in another world.A goddess stood before me.She told me I could go back.Back to my world.Back to everything I lost.All I had to do… was play my part.The side character.And I did.I followed the script.Played my role to perfection.They hated me.Mocked me.Used me.Again and again.But I kept going. Because I believed her.Because I wanted to go home.Then one day, I found out.The hard way.It was all a lie.There was no going back.There never was.She used me.Again.Just like everyone else.Thrown away like trash once I outlived my usefulness.That was the day something inside me snapped.And so, I made a vow.I would take everything from her.I would enslave every single heroine she chose.And I would kill the hero she placed all her hopes on.If she wanted to protect this world…Then I would burn it down.But the more I tried, the more things started to change.And then one day—I found one of the heroines.One of the hero's yanderes I had enslaved.She stood there, trembling, a knife in her hand.“You’re not going anywhere,” she whispered, eyes wild.“I won’t let them have you. You belong to me.”...What. The. Fuck. Is. Happening?!

Oliver West never expected his quiet life to turn into a nightmare. The boy who once shared secrets and summer adventures with him has become someone he doesn’t recognize. Keiran Morrison - tall, dangerous, and devastatingly handsome - now uses that same intensity that once made Oliver’s heart flutter to terrorize him instead.Every day at Riverside High is a battle for survival. Every corner could hide a new humiliation. Every moment of peace is just the calm before Keiran’s next storm.But why does Keiran’s hatred burn so bright? What happened to turn childhood love into adult cruelty? And why, despite everything, does Oliver’s heart still race when Keiran gets close - even when he’s terrified?Some mistakes can’t be forgiven. Some wounds run too deep to heal.But sometimes the line between love and hate is thinner than you think.